The Salto Talaris Total Ankle Arthroplasty System: A Review and Report of Early Results

With ongoing advances in joint-replacement technology and renewed interest in total ankle arthroplasty (TAA), various TAA systems have been developed during the past decade to surgically manage severe, end-stage arthritis. Better understanding of physiological kinematics and anatomic relationships with reference to the ankle joint has allowed for improved prosthetic design and more precise surgical techniques, potentially creating promising superior clinical outcomes. One such TAA system that has emerged and recently gained Food and Drug Administration approval is the Salto Talaris Anatomic Ankle (Tornier, Saint-Ismier, France), which features a fixed-bearing, 2-component design derived from a mobile-bearing European design. Although clinical results are yet to be reported, insight as to its likely role in providing improved functional outcomes can be extrapolated from the authors' experiences using this TAA system and from short- and mid-term results of the Salto mobile-bearing design. This article aims to provide historical background, describe surgical technique, and present relevant clinical data to better understand the potential role of the Salto Talaris ankle replacement system in providing symptomatic relief and optimal range of motion, and hence improving quality of life in patients with end-stage ankle arthritis.